Monday, March 10, 2014

"In
this remarkable footage shot in Hawaii in January, an entangled dolphin
approaches divers filming manta rays and appears to ask a diver for
help. One fin was entangled in fishing line, and the diver, realizing
what was up, removed the hook and line, even using his Leatherman to do
it. It's clear in the video that the dolphin trusted the diver, even
when he was using a tool, and knew he was sincerely trying to help.
Simply amazing."

I appreciated Tony Kendall’s column
last week, but wondered if perhaps there was, in the immortal words of
Paul Harvey, a “rest of the story.”

I
also remembered a fine column appearing in this paper some years ago by
William Barr, which discussed the pension records of black Confederate
soldiers in Tennessee, and am surprised Mr. Kendall did not.

Then again, being married to the author means that I was perhaps more attentive to it!

Samuel Johnson said there are two kinds of knowledge — that which we know and that which we know how to find.

I
would add that we are also wise if we know when to find someone who
knows something in which we are interested. I am fortunate to have many
historians in my life, both professional and amateur.

Rather than revisit Bill’s column, I was able to get a new perspective.

John
Mark King is a Kentuckian and member of the Southern Nationalist Party,
which he says “welcome(s) the participation and leadership of black men
and women of the South — in the struggle for liberty and just
governance.”

CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson has reached an
agreement to resign from CBS News ahead of contract, bringing an end to
months of hard-fought negotiations, sources familiar with her departure
told POLITICO on Monday.

Attkisson, who has been with CBS News for two decades, had grown
frustrated with what she saw as the network’s liberal bias, an outsize
influence by the network’s corporate partners and a lack of dedication
to investigative reporting, several sources said. She increasingly felt
that her work was no longer supported and that it was a struggle to get
her reporting on air.

At the same time, Attkisson’s reporting on the Obama administration,
which some staffers characterized as agenda-driven, had led network
executives to doubt the impartiality of her reporting. She is currently
at work on a book — tentatively titled “Stonewalled: One Reporter’s
Fight for Truth in Obama’s Washington” — that addresses the challenges
of reporting critically on the administration.

On Saturday, I informed you of a Connecticut police officer who said he wanted to bust through one patriot's door and take his guns. This morning I spoke with John Cinque via telephone and he provided me with screenshots of the conversation that he mentioned in the video. Many people wanted to see the evidence of what John referenced in the video. Some thought it was nothing more than ploy since he was in the video with Connecticut gubernatorial candidate Joe Visconti. I won't attempt to judge Visconti's motives. However, the evidence is clear of what Officer Joseph Peterson of the Branford Police Department said, and in the course of the conversation actually spilled the beans on what gun registration is all about: Taking your guns, which every red-blooded, American gun owner knows already.

I
live in New York State and am a student of the Civil War. In the 1950s,
the United States Congress declared ALL those who fought in the Civil
War to be AMERICAN soldiers and that their symbols - INCLUDING FLAGS -
are AMERICAN and therefore to be respected.

I
have learned that you intend to remove the flag that flies over the
graves of Confederate soldiers in your newly acquired Lakeview Memorial
Gardens Cemetery in Phoenix City, Alabama. Tell me, do you intend to
remove the AMERICAN flag that flies over Union soldiers
in any of your properties?

Because if you remove the one, then you must
also remove the other since they are, according to the Congress, the
same in value and worth. The men over whom this flag flies died for
their State and for their beliefs and since the United States Government
has declared their sacrifice worthy of respect, I fail to see why you
feel yourself qualified to decree otherwise.

The
present debate about the history, heritage and symbols of the South is a
manufactured creation of a politically correct, revisionist history
that has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with facts or truth OR history. What's
next? Will you remove the Crosses or Stars of David from the graves of
Christians and Jews because someone is OFFENDED? Most probably, not. Why
then do you purchase "hallowed ground" in Alabama and insult the
majority of the people of that state by removing a revered symbol in
order to placate people who act in both ignorance and intolerance?

Let the flag of these dead heroes fly.

Thank you for your courtesy.

Valerie Protopapas

*******************************************************

At an AOT Heritage Defense meeting this week we learned…

Lakeview Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Alabama has been bought by a Pennsylvania company, which no longer allows the Confederate flag to fly over our dead.

There is a flagpole close to the monument that has always had a Confederate Flag flying. It honors those who died at the Battle of Moses Hill.

The salesman a Mr. Williams said a lady representing the owners, told the local cemetery to take down the flag, it was not acceptable.

***I would suggest you let them know how you feel, or you can just go ahead and let them trample all over our heritage.

The phrase convicted felon makes most people’s ears perk up. There is
a stigma associated with those that have been convicted of a felony
crime. Without any background knowledge of the nature of the felony
conviction or the atmosphere the crime took place, the word “felon” has
the ability to define a person.

The truth of the matter is not all felons are created equally. Some
felons were convicted of violent crimes and some don’t have a violent
bone in their bodies. Some of the convictions occured more than 10, 20,
or even 30 years ago. Yet in most states they are treated the same and
none are permitted to own modern firearms.

The Oklahoma City police arrested a felon last weekend at a gun show
because he was attempting to sell a gun. The officers uncovered his
record as a convicted felon while completing a background check.
KOCO.com has the report.

Vietnam’s Maritime Search and Rescue Services was scrambling ships to
a debris field after a commercial Cathay Pacific airliner Monday en
route to Hong Kong reported a “large amount of metal debris”.

It is possible that MH370 was a 9/11-type plot, in which the target
was the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur? Until recently, they were the
tallest buildings in the world. And even now, they remain a spectacular
centerpiece to Kuala Lumpur’s skyline. You can see why terrorists would
find them a tantalizing target.

Malaysia is a Muslim country, so it would be low on the target list
for many terrorist groups. But then, so are Iraq and Syria, yet both
nations regularly witness mass-casualty attacks against civilians. It’s
also worth noting that Southeast Asia has played host to a number of
terrorist entities for decades.

A vessel in the area confirmed material was floating in the ocean
about 92 kilometres off the southeastern coast of Vietnam in the South
China Sea. The debris is located about 520 kilometres northeast of a
missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370′s last known radar position.

Overlooked in the CPAC shuffle of late last week were the results of a nationwide CNN survey
on abortion, the results of which confirm America's anti-abortion
trend. A solid majority (58 percent) of respondents espoused viewpoints
associated with the pro-life movement; namely, that abortion should be
legal under "few" or "no" circumstances. The 'mostly illegal' position
represented a strong plurality at 38 percent. Meanwhile, just 40
percent of Americans said that the practice should be "always" or
"mostly" legal. Also, public financing of abortion remains heavily
unpopular:

The
Duke of Wellington is reported to have said that “a man of refined
Christian sensibilities is totally unfit for the profession of a
soldier,” though two devoted Christians, Lee and Jackson faithfully
performed their soldierly duties to near-perfection against tremendous
odds.

“On
the Confederate side, the force operating at Chancellorsville consisted
of McLaw’s and Anderson’s divisions of Longstreet’s corps (Hood’s and
Pickett’s divisions of that corps, under Longstreet, were in the
vicinity of Suffolk, on the south side of the James river), and
Jackson’s corps, of A.P. Hill’s, [Jubal] Early’s, D.H. Hill’s under
[General Robert] Rodes, and [General Isaac] Trimble’s under [Raleigh E.]
Colston, and two brigades of cavalry under W.H.F. Lee and Fitzhugh Lee.

Present,
then, we find six infantry divisions or twenty-eight brigades, and the
cavalry brigades of nine regiments. The official return of the Army of
Northern Virginia nearest to the battle extant – viz: 31st March 1863 . . . you have present at Chancellorsville a Confederate total on 53,303, with some 170 pieces of artillery.

Now let us see what 133,708 fighting men in blue did with 53,303 “boys in gray.”

It
will be demonstrated that “the finest army on the planet” as Hooker
termed it, “was like the waves of the ocean driven upon the beach by
some unseen force, and whose white crests we so soon broken into
glittering jewels on the sand.”

[Three
of Hooker’s] corps were to constitute the left wing of the army – were
to hold and amuse General Lee and prevent him from observing the great
flank movement of the right wing, and to pursue him, when maneuvered out
of his entrenchments, by the approaching hosts on his left-rear.
Hooker’s original left wing was about equal in numbers to General Lee’s
whole army, and his right wing, or marching column, of four infantry
corps and one cavalry corps [57,414], would represent his numerical
advantage in strength.

The
Confederate commander knew a movement was in progress. With the
serenity of almost superhuman intelligence he waited for it to be
developed before his plans were laid to counteract it, for he remembered
the maxim of the great Napoleon, that when your enemy is making a
mistake he must not be interrupted. 000 men in front of Hooker’s 73,124 while Jackson
moved around his right flank with 26,000. [Upon personally viewing the
exposed and undefended enemy flank, Jackson’s] eyes burned with a
brilliant glow, lighting up his sad face. His expression was one of
intense interest, his face was colored slightly with the paint of
approaching battle, and radiant at the success of his flanking movement.

From
what I have read and heard of Jackson since that day, I know now what
he was doing then. Oh! “beware of rashness,” General Hooker. Stonewall
Jackson is praying in full view of your right flank!”

The main components in our power grid distribution system are
transformers. They step up the generated voltage to a higher level for
more efficient transport over very long lines. Then they step the
voltage back down in several stages for final consumption. These
transformers are located at the power plants and thousands of
substations. They are big and right out in the open. Weather does not
bother them, but bullets do. They are the weak links in our power grid.

For the first time, a .44
Magnum ‘Combat Magnum’ will be offered by Smith & Wesson in the
L-frame. The new Model 69 revolver will look like the classic Combat
Magnum revolvers (such as the recently re-introduced Model 66.)

The guns will have a 4.25″ barrel topped with a red ramp front sight
and adjustable rear sight. The stainless steel frame is glass bead
finished, and the stainless steel cylinder holds five rounds. Like the
classic Combat Magnums, the top strap and barrel have ridges.

Mercenaries in the region could give Putin pretext for military action

Donetsk has been the scene of big pro-Russian demonstrations this weekSpeculation was growing last night
that American mercenaries had been deployed to Donetsk after videos
emerged of unidentified armed men in the streets of the eastern
Ukrainian city.

At least two
videos published on YouTube earlier this week show burly, heavily armed
soldiers with no insignia in the city, which has been gripped by
pro-Moscow protests.

In one
of the videos onlookers can be heard shouting 'Blackwater! Blackwater!'
as the armed men, who wear no insignia, jog through the streets.

Ukraine's foreign minister said Monday his
country already feels like it's almost in a state of war after Russian
forces took effective control of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. A
referendum has been called there for Sunday on whether the region should
split off and seek to become part of Russia.

Pro-Russia sentiment is also high in Ukraine's east and there are fears Russia could seek to incorporate that area as well.

The
Kremlin statement also claimed Russian citizens trying to enter Ukraine
have been turned back at the border by Ukrainian officials.

Remembrance

To die for one’s country is not only an act of bravery, it is THE act of bravery. For soldiers, it is just an extension of their military career, a part of their duty. As leaders have asked their soldiers to sacrifice themselves for the good of the society, it is only right for leaders to go through the same motion. They should practice what they have preached.

As war is seen as a noble act, tu sat serves as redemption in case of defeat. It is also a way to tell the enemy: “You might have won the battle/war but you don’t deserve to win because you don’t have the chinh nghia (just cause).” And it is not only just cause: it is the moral belief that the cause they are fighting for deserves their total sacrifice. Continues below

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Core Creek Militia

==============================My sixth great grandfather, his wife, and five of his six children were killed in battle with the Tuscarora Indians at Core Creek, NC.

The Seven Blackbirds

==============================My third great grandfather was an Ensign in the Revolutionary War, and saved his unit's flag after being wounded at the Battle of Brandywine. He was also at Kingston (Kinston), Wilmington, Charleston, Two Sisters and Augusta. He was at the defeat at Brier Creek and also Bee Creek.

Requiem Aeternam -
Eternal Rest Grant unto Them
==============================
My second great grandfather was killed in action on May 3, 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
=============================
My great grandfather and great uncle knew all the men in the "Civil War Requiem" video as they were part of the 53rd NC which was the sole unit defending Fort Mahone. (Fort Mahone was named "Fort Damnation" by the Yankees) *Handpicked men of the 53rd (My great grandfather was one of these) made the final, night assault at Petersburg in an attempt to break Grant's line. This was against Fort Stedman which was a few miles to the slight northeast. They initially succeeded, but reinforcements drove them back. This video is made from photographs which were taken the day after the 53rd evacuated the lines the night before to begin the retreat to Appomattox. I have many more pictures taken by the same photographer, one of these shows a 14 year old boy and the other is the famous picture of the blond, handsome soldier with his musket.
===========================
*General Gordon promised the men a gold medal and 30 days leave if they accomplished their task and many years after the War my great grandfather wrote General Gordon, who was then governor of Georgia about this incident. They exchanged several letters which I have framed. See first link below.
===========================
*The Attack On Fort Stedman
============================
"His Colored Friends"
============================
Lee's Surrender
=============================
My Black NC Kinfolks
============================
Punished For Being Caught!

Great Grandfather Koonce

He was a drummer boy in the WBTS, survived the War only to die a few years later. He was caught in an ice storm on his way home, but instead of seeking shelter, continued on his horse until the end. His clothes had to be cut off and he died a few days later.